The Dialects of Ibibio and Where They Are Spoken
by Mathias Orhero

Introductory Remarks
Once again Nairalanders, I bring to you another topic on the rich cultural diversity of the people of the Niger-Delta/South-South. This thread is premised upon my earlier works on the Urhobo and Ijaw dialects and where they are spoken which can both be accessed in these two links respectively:
The Various Dialects of The Urhobo Language and Where They Are Spoken
Ijaw Dialects and Where They Are Spoken

This thread is devoted to the Ibibio people and where their various dialects are spoken. It should be noted here that although I am familiar and well acquainted with the Ibibio people, I am not an Ibibio person. I am only a lover of the Ibibio people and have lived amongst them. I have made my research and will attempt to capture this group of unique people as briefly as I can. If I make mistakes, errors and misconceive facts, please correct me in as rational a way as you can. No research is devoid of flaws and I do not claim to be an expert! I am forever a student of knowledge. Do not incite tribalism here! If you have derogatory remarks to make, kindly swallow them. Do not insult my person because it doesn't tell well of you. Over now to the order of the day.
The Ibibio people are a unique people who occupy current Akwa-Ibom and Cross-River(Efik) States. They are speculated to be well over 6million and also seen as the 4th/5th/6th largest ethnic group in Nigeria. I put 4th/5th/6th because some scholars are of the opinion that they are the 4th whereas others believe that they are the 5th/6th. Population is largely speculative and until the next census is conducted in Nigeria in 2016, we may never resolve this issue. In any case, the Ibibios are numerous and have a wide geographical spread across the whole nation. Ibibios are easily found in states such as Lagos, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Abia, Anambra, Benue and FCT. There is virtually no state in Nigeria without Ibibios. Ibibios are also in large numbers in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago. They also have a strong diasporan presence all over the globe. Major Ibibio cities and towns include: Uyo, Calabar, Eket, Ikot-Ekpene, Ikot-Abasi, Oron, Abak, Odukpani, etc. Ibibio as a language has produced other languages/dialects in other languages such as the Ogbia and Andoni dialects in Ijaw. Culturally, the Ibibios have certain semblance with their South-Eastern neighbours, the Igbos. Most of the masquerade tradition and clothing styles used by the Ibibios are generally akin to that of the Igbos. Other than the language, most skeptics will fall into the fallacy that Ibibio is an Igboid group. How far from the truth they are! Ibibios are extraordinarily peaceful and easygoing. They have a high tolerance for violent acts against them without retaliation. However, like every other group on Earth, they can and will bite back if pushed to the wall and to a spot where they cannot escape from.
Ibibios also employ the Nsibidi writing system that resembles the Egyptian Hieroglyphics and this writing system was formed by the Ibibio Ekpe (Leopard) society. Ibibios are mainly Christians due to their early and continuous contact with the Christian Missionaries. Ibibios have an endemic church which most Nigerians may not know of, the Qua Iboe Church! This church is named after the Qua Iboe river from which the term Akwa-Ibom derives from. Ibibios are one of the earliest people to encounter Western Education in Nigeria. The Hope Waddell Training Institute, founded in 1895, is one of the earliest extant schools in Nigeria.
Ibibios are regarded as the most ancient of all the ethnic groups in Nigeria mainly because there are no legends or traditions of origin among the Ibibio. They have been in existence long enough to have forgotten the stories of their origin. As a result there are many stories about their origins of which one states that Atai, Abasi's(God) wife, persuaded him to allow humans inhabit the earth under the condition that they do not farm/hunt/produce children. This law was disobeyed and Abasi sent death to earth. However, some scholars are also of the opinion that Ibibios were originally dispersed from Arochukwu, an Igbo town.
Traditionally, Ibibio society consists of communities that are made up of large families with blood relationship and each are ruled by their constitutional and religious head known as the "Obong Ikpaisong" or simply "Obong". The Obong Ikpaisong rules with the Mbong Ekpuk (Head of the Families) which, together with the Heads of the Cults and Societies, constitute the 'Afe or Asan or Esop Ikpaisong' (Traditional Council or Traditional Shrine or Traditional Court). The decisions or orders of the Traditional Council or the Obong Ikpaisong were enforced by members of the Ekpo or Obon society who act as messengers of the spirits and the military and police of the community. Such secret societies such as Ekpo usually instill fear in the mind of the people through their brutality and lawlessness. They are essentially above the law. Membership is open to all Ibibio males, but one must have access to wealth to move into the politically influential grades.
Ibibios are simple-minded, highly respectful and hospitable and have a good cuisine. Ibibios are neighboured by Igbos, Ijaws and Ogonis. Ibibio language resembles no other language in the Niger Delta. Ibibio has been described as a "loud language" by most because of the presence of sounds like bang, bung, bong, book, took, etc. People often say Ibibios are simply "Calabar people". However, this is an anomaly as Calabar belongs to the Efik cluster of the Ibiboid language (we'll get there soon) and Calabar itself is a place and not a language or a dialect. So when next you see Ibibio people, do not call them Calabar people because that is a stereotypical term. Simply call them Ibibios or by the dialect they belong to.


Ibibio Dialects And Where They Are Spoken
The Ibibio language belongs to the Benue–Congo language family also called the Cross River language family. The term Cross River is derived from a major river that plays a role in the cultural life of the Ibibios and the river derives the name for the current Cross River State of Nigeria. Ibibio shares the Cross-River language family with its descendent languages/dialects of other languages such as Ogbia(Ijaw), Ogoni (spoken in Rivers State) and Obolo/Andoni (Spoken in Rivers State and a LGA in Akwa-Ibom), among others.
Ibibio dialects are grouped as below. However, because I am not a native speaker of Ibibio or any of its dialects, I won't be able to give a comprehensive dialectal analysis but based on my research and findings, I will present the mutual intelligibility index of the dialects. The dialectal differences among the various Ibibio groups can be attributed largely to the long period of territorial isolation between groups.

1. Ibibio Proper: Categorised as Eastern Ibibio. This dialect is spoken in Uyo and virtually all Local Government Areas in Akwa-Ibom with the exception of the ones that speak other dialects. This is the general Ibibio which every Ibibio, regardless of dialect, can understand and speak. It is easily understandable by other Ibibio speakers. It is the "purest" and "protoid" form of the language. This is the dialect studied at the Universities of Uyo and Calabar as well as the various Colleges of Education and Arts in Akwa-Ibom and Cross-River State.

2. Anaang (Annang): Categorised as Western Ibibio. This dialect is spoken by the Anaang people who occupy Abak, Essien Udim, Etim Ekpo, Ika, Ikot Ekpene, Obot Akara, Oruk Anam and Ukanafun Local Government Areas of Akwa-Ibom State. Anaang is not just a dialect, it is a culturally rich variant of Ibibio. The Anaang people have cultural tendencies that are different from Ibibio proper and in a variant instance of the Ibibio Obong system, people who can trace their ancestry to the same parents form an "Ufok" (literally a house or compound). Several "Ufoks" makeup "Ekpuks" or extended family and several "Ekpuks" (extended families) make up "Idung" (meaning village) and several villages make up the "Abie" or clan. The Anaang people also operate the "fattening room" system in which virgin adolescent girls are fattened up in preparation for marriage.
Anaang dialect is NOT intelligible to most Ibibio speakers. They consider Anaang to be deep and difficult. In fact, Anaang has its own linguistic rules separate from Ibibio.

3. Efik: Categorised as Riverain Ibibio. This dialect is spoken by the Efik people of Cross-River State. Although it is a dialect of Ibibio, Efik is recognised as a distinct ethnic nationality in Nigeria! This is why Ibibio people from Cross-River State are referred to as Efik/Ibibio or Ibibio-Efik people. This dialect is also studied at tertiary institutions in Cross Rivers State. Efik is spoken widely in Calabar, the Cross River State capital as a central language. The Efik dialect is mutually intelligible with Ibibio. In fact, inexperienced listeners and speakers will conclude that Efik and Ibibio are exactly the same. While they are intelligible, variations exist in the language that other the native speakers themselves can truly spot. The Efik King, the Obong of Calabar, is a first class ruler that is seen as the Efik most paramount monarch.

4. Eket (Ekit, Ekid): Categorised as Southern Ibibio. This dialect is spoken by the Eket people of Akwa-Ibom and they occupy Eket and Esit Eket Local Government Areas. Eket is also a city in Akwa-Ibom State and the second major one, coming after Uyo, the capital. The urban areas of Eket include: Okon, Nsit Ubium, Afaha Eket and Esit Eket. Eket is an oil city, much like Warri, with a population of 364,000(est.). Eket and Ibibio proper are similar but sufficiently distinct enough to give away the precise dialect the speaker originates from. The Eket have a form of caste or class society with the "Amama" being the highest caste, and they are notable for undertaking traditional potlatch-like feasts in which the poorer people are fed en masse. In addition to the "Amama," groups of "Ekpo Ndem Isong" class rule individual villages and towns, and their will is enforced by the "Ikan" class (traditional masked police).

5. Oron (Oro): Also categorised as Southern Ibibio like Eket. The Oron dialect is spoken by the people that inhabit Oron, Udung-Uko, Mbo, Urue-Offong/Oruko, and Okobo Local Government Areas of Akwa-Ibom State as well as Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State. The Oron people, popularly called 'Oro Ukpabang' or 'Akpakip Oro' or`Oro Ukpabang Okpo` by its indigenes, are made up of several clans. There are nine clans called "Afaha" in Oron nation. Oron town is the third largest city in Akwa Ibom state after Uyo and Eket. Oron has a population of about 250,000. The Oron people have one king that rules over the land. He is known as the 'Ahta Oro'. The Oron people have a very colourful mode of traditional dressing, especially with an Iyara (which is red in colour). The red Iyara is usually worn with a white tailored traditional shirt and a wrapper (large fabric wrapped around the waist) to match. Dialectically, the Oron people can understand Ibibio but this cannot be said to be vice-versa. Oron is not easily understandable to the speakers of Ibibio proper. They have to learn it or at least become conversant with it over a period of weeks/months before they can speak it. Oron language is closer to Anaang than it is to Ibibio.

6. Ibeno (Ibino)/ Obolo/ Andoni : Categorised as Delta Ibibio. This dialect is spoken by people who inhabit Ibeno and Eastern Obolo Local Government Areas of Akwa-Ibom State as well as parts of Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State. This dialect is classified as "Delta" because it is partly Ijoid. It's internal linguistic elements have been interfered into by Ijaw elements and a secondary language, which is as Ibiboid as it is Ijoid, has evolved. Their dialect, unlike others, is extremely different from central Ibibio. Ibibio speakers have to learn this dialect from the scratch. The Ibeno dialect has Ijoid linguistic markers and Ibibio cultural markers. Many Ibenos see themselves as a distinct people entirely. In Ibeno culture, the age-grade system plays an important role in social cohesion. These people, like the mainstream Ijaws, are riverine, pastoral and reclusive in nature. Their names are drawn from both Ibibio and Ijaw. In border towns/communities, names like Preye Idaresit, which is a combination of Ijaw and Ibibio names, are common.




This brings us to the end of this session! Ibibios are lovely and diverse right? Who would have thought that the "Calabar man/woman" you know has a language this deep, diverse and rich? Lest I forget, do not underrate Ibibio people! As it is today, Ibibios are the largest producers of Nigerian crude! We are lucky that they are a docile people. If an Ibibio man in Eket or Oron coughs, EVERYBODY will catch a sneeze! Do not relegate these people.. They are the source of our common wealth.
Once again, let us eschew tribalism and make positive, useful and relevant comments to this topic. If anything unusual or false is spotted, kindly draw my attention to it without attacking my person. I am always willing to learn and I acknowledge that I am not perfect! I love the Ibibio/Efik people! I love their food, their culture, their women, their hospitality, their neatness and their good maintenance abilities. Ibibios know how to make themselves comfortable. It should be noted that their cities of Uyo and Calabar are reputed to the the neatest and most beautiful cities in Nigeria, this is a testimony to the neat and careful nature of the Ibibio/Efik people. That said I end by saying Ibibio Ayaya oooooooo!!!!!!



Written by Mathias Orhero (literarymathy@gmail.com)

Insert pictures: Ibibio/Efik People


[img]http://2.bp..com/-OkEYcfppC-k/URjBL98SAeI/AAAAAAAABi0/S4wlLvuL8OM/s640/ibibio2.JPG[/img]
[img]http://2.bp..com/-cgsfGx5UkJs/T-n__UueKkI/AAAAAAAADHo/jTe72ZAV6UU/s640/229047_1024242212269_1382_n.jpg[/img]

[img]http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/inscribing/images/eduimages/ekpeLG.jpg[/img]


Lalasticlala, Seun, Dominique, Ishilove, Farano.

After this, I am going up North.

Tiv Dialects and Where They Are Spoken. (Except someone beats me to it)

You just tagged the whole of nairaland in this post. Is it that serious??

Nice one tho.

Nice 1 man.. 1 origin for you, I don arrange 1 babe for you too oo..

trapQ:
You just tagged the whole of nairaland in this post. Is it that serious??

Nice one tho.

That's how we roll bro.

Goodboiyy:
Nice 1 man.. 1 origin for you, I don arrange 1 babe for you too oo..

Dat one de. Try send me email make I add u for fb or bbm/WhatsApp

fratermathy:



Dat one de. Try send me email make I add u for fb or bbm/WhatsApp

I they on bbm b4 oo.. but I go send you mail so that you go drop your pin for me, wen I don ready for chatting I go add you up... Were for warri u they stay... Work nor they let me Dey 1 place..

Na Nairaland be my Fb/twitter

Nice

OP just killed it. I reside in Akwa Ibom and the analysis above is just spot on. AKS also has one of the largest concentration of light-skinned and beautiful people in Nigeria. Their delicacies are wow! In fact, my best soup is now Atama.
Long live Akwa Ibom state
Long live Nigeria.

I dey clean my otiapiapia they wait for NL mod make they always delay all our post b4 they hit FP.

@ fratermathy are you from Okpara inland ?.. Abeg they tell me now oo. You know oguerey family ?

Lalasticlala how far ?.. be like that 1 they ontop woman.. what's the time again.. 10:29pm.. watttt

Worthy of mention is AKS women. I've heard my Igbo brothers boasting of our women Hahaha! AKS women are the bomb o! Toolz no even get curves. Those women, almost everyone of them has nice shape. I dont know why they dont do well in MBGN. All in all, they can beat my Igbo sisters hands down in terms of beauty.
Op, remember your promise o!

Nigerianvenom, God bless your people!

Ibibio land is blessed

@OP. We need the Yoruba group.

Chinachriss:
OP just killed it. I reside in Akwa Ibom and the analysis above is just spot on. AKS also has one of the largest concentration of light-skinned and beautiful people in Nigeria. Their delicacies are wow! In fact, my best soup is now Atama.
Long live Akwa Ibom state
Long live Nigeria.

I agree totally especially with the light-skinned issue. Akwa-Ibom people, especially their ladies, have natural light skin color. Ibibio people are "gifted" in many ways.

Chinachriss:
Worthy of mention is AKS women. I've heard my Igbo brothers boasting of our women Hahaha! AKS women are the bomb o! Toolz no even get curves. Those women, almost everyone of them has nice shape. I dont know why they dont do well in MBGN. All in all, they can beat my Igbo sisters hands down in terms of beauty.
Op, remember your promise o!

I've not forgotten bro.

I may push back my Nupe research for it.

obia62:
@OP. We need the Yoruba group.

Yoruba has been worked on before, if I recall correctly. Except you want me to have a "redo".

fratermathy:



I've not forgotten bro.

I may push back my Nupe research for it.

Thanks Sir. I appreciate your assiduity. Jide nke iji.

fratermathy:


Yoruba has been worked on before, if I recall correctly. Except you want me to have a "redo".

i missed it

South group
Yoruba
Edo
Delta
Rivers ethnic group
NORTH GROUP
Hausas
Fulani
Idoma
Berome.
Tiv.

obia62:


i missed it

South group
Yoruba
Edo
Delta
Rivers ethnic group
NORTH GROUP
Hausas
Fulani
Idoma
Berome.
Tiv.

Maybe Lalasticlala can help us by posting links of already covered groups, if possible.

TonyeBarcanista:
Nigerianvenom, God bless your people!

Ibibio land is blessed

Nice write up by the op.
I love this. Though an oron man, annang and eket man will never agree to d fact that they are also ibibio.
If in doubt, ask IbokUtoroh.
D church mentioned above-QUA IBOE CHURCH is my church.
Popular ibibio guys include :
Okon lagos, ini edo, frank edoho, Vincent Enyeama, rose barkley of everton, tha suspect, don tom, presh of kc presh, etim esin, etc

.

Sowell28:

Stop spreading false information.There's nothing like Efik/Ibibio language or Efik ibibio nation.There is Akwacross region in West Africa Nigeria which contains a group of nations ( linguistic neighbors) just like Nordic or Scandinavia region,not Norway/Finland . It is foolish to say that Finland ,Denmark and Sweden are Norwegian,simply because Norway has a larger population. Ibibio is not Annang,Efik is not Ibibio,and vice versa. It is ignorant to assume otherwise. Oron,Efik,Annang and Ibibio are different nations and are simply linguistic neighbors similar to (Swedish,Finnish,Danish and Norwegian ) or (North Korean,South Korean,Singaporean,Taiwanese,Japanese) . Finnish,Danish and Norwegian have similarities which ,while Swedish is a little more exclusive. African nations especially in west and central Africa settled in smaller landmasses. Eastern and southern African nations settled in Larger landmasses due to the somewhat arid nature of those lands which incurs Normadism. For example,Namibia or Botswana are each as large as Nigeria,but Have only two tribes and population of 1.5 and 1 million respectively.
The Population ratio between the nations contained within the Akwa Ibom/Crossriver region are as follows :
Ibibio - 100
Annang - 87
Oron - 80
Efik - 70
Eket (Ibibio)- 50
Ibeno (Oron)- 25

80% of the natural resources in the region are contained within Oron territory(Oil,Natural Gas,Rubber,Lead,Iron,Bauxite,Glass silicon,Limestone,Timber, Seafood.)And that makes Oron nation (Okobo,Oron,Bakassi,Mbo,Udung Uko,UrueOffong/Oruko) one of the wealthiest nations in the entire world if it were autonomous. Oron nation is two and half times larger than Singapore. Oron union was the first national Union in Nigeria founded in 1925. Oronian Population is estimated at 1.1 million . Oron artifacts are regarded as some of the oldest and beautiful in west Africa.Some of the Artifacts can be found at Boston museum,London museum and Philadelphia museum.
Finally,I like Ibibio,Annang and Efik,and I wish the entire Akwa ibom /cross river region would be developed and the nations coexist in such a way that they do not impede each other. It's up to Ibibio,Annang and Efik to merge and form one nation or efik ibibio language. Oron nation remains a distinct nation without comprise . Oron nation yearns to be an independent autonomous nation .

Pls and pls stop misinforming people. i know u are a typically oronian and i know how u guys sound.
Which resources do u have in oro or oro nation? Now ure claiming bakassi and ibeno as ur annex. stop all these.

.

SMH
Sowell, stop all this dichotomy, You know very well that Oron/ Ibibio and Efik are related. I understand the fact that Oron language is not mutually intelligible to Ibibio/ Efik/ Annang folks but you guys understand them, bear same names and have similar culture.
This is also observable in other cultures. In Igbo land, I dont understand Afikpo and Nsukka dialects witjout straining my ears but everybody understands the general Igbo Izugbe.
The Op even pointed all these out. So, quit the hatred. You mentioned that Oron has this and that, have you forgotten that Eket is the oil giant of Aks. Is Oron more developed than Eket? Ibeno and Eastern Obolo also have enormous petroleum.

Sowell28:
You know nothing about me.You'd be more than surprised.
Also,What those brackets mean is the Affinity and marginality . I have already listed Oron's resources. I know you are envious and hateful towards Oron and do not like Oron's progress despite the fact that without Oron,you are nothing. It's just a shame how evil the hearts of men can be. You do not like Oronians uniting,patriotic and loving and helping each other(You believe that such behavior is clannish,so you hate Oronians and prefer that they disunite and hate each other) . Oron produces around 75% of Akwa Ibom's oil. It doesn't matter if Oron has any resources at all. Ibibio is not Oron,Oron is not Annang. There's nothing like Efik /Ibio nation or Efik Ibibio language. Oron doesn't want to be in akwa ibom. If you think Annang is Oron or oron is ibibio,then erect the Oron flag in annang and ibibio land.

Really? U dont want to be in akwa ibom but want to participate in governance in akwa ibom.
U claim u are a nation on ur own but cant clearly mention why u should.
Which unity are u talking about? Other part of akwa ibom is growing at d speed of light, yet the so called oron nation is still lagging and far behind in all indexes, so what are u talking about?
U are talking about self agitation and you've been talking about this for years before i was born. Is it not a shame?

nigerianvenom:


Really? U dont want to be in akwa ibom but want to participate in governance in akwa ibom.
U claim u are a nation on ur own but cant clearly mention why u should.
Which unity are u talking about? Other part of akwa ibom is growing at d speed of light, yet the so called oron nation is still lagging and far behind in all indexes, so what are u talking about?
U are talking about self agitation and you've been talking about this for years before i was born. Is it not a shame?

I understand the Op's plight. Same here in Uniuyo with the Oron guys. They are really marginalized in Aks. But, I must commend them, they are very industrious. An average Ibibio person is very lazy.

.

Sowell28:

Stop spreading false information.There's nothing like Efik/Ibibio language or Efik ibibio nation.There is Akwacross region in West Africa Nigeria which contains a group of nations ( linguistic neighbors) just like Nordic or Scandinavia region,not Norway/Finland . It is foolish to say that Finland ,Denmark and Sweden are Norwegian,simply because Norway has a larger population. Ibibio is not Annang,Efik is not Ibibio,and vice versa. It is ignorant to assume otherwise. Oron,Efik,Annang and Ibibio are different nations and are simply linguistic neighbors similar to (Swedish,Finnish,Danish and Norwegian ) or (North Korean,South Korean,Singaporean,Taiwanese,Japanese) . Finnish,Danish and Norwegian have similarities which ,while Swedish is a little more exclusive. African nations especially in west and central Africa settled in smaller landmasses. Eastern and southern African nations settled in Larger landmasses due to the somewhat arid nature of those lands which incurs Normadism. For example,Namibia or Botswana are each as large as Nigeria,but Have only two tribes and population of 1.5 and 1 million respectively.
The Population ratio between the nations contained within the Akwa Ibom/Crossriver region are as follows :
Ibibio - 100
Annang - 87
Oron - 80
Efik - 70
Eket (Ibibio)- 50
Ibeno (Oron)- 25

80% of the natural resources in the region are contained within Oron territory(Oil,Natural Gas,Rubber,Lead,Iron,Bauxite,Glass silicon,Limestone,Timber, Seafood.)And that makes Oron nation (Okobo,Oron,Bakassi,Mbo,Udung Uko,UrueOffong/Oruko) one of the wealthiest nations in the entire world if it were autonomous. Oron nation is two and half times larger than Singapore. Oron union was the first national Union in Nigeria founded in 1925. Oronian Population is estimated at 1.1 million . Oron artifacts are regarded as some of the oldest and beautiful in west Africa.Some of the Artifacts can be found at Boston museum,London museum and Philadelphia museum.
Finally,I like Ibibio,Annang and Efik,and I wish the entire Akwa ibom /cross river region would be developed and the nations coexist in such a way that they do not impede each other. It's up to Ibibio,Annang and Efik to merge and form one nation or efik ibibio language. Oron nation remains a distinct nation without comprise . Oron nation yearns to be an independent autonomous nation .

Point NOTED sire!

Nawao! See hyperventilation!

cc: ocelot2006.

Your Annang is being accused of the same things you accuse Ndiigbo of.

"our oyel" " our oyel", turns out the oyel is not in Annangland, it's in Oronland.

So what happens now that Oron wants her independence?

You see why it's foolish to put faith in oyel instead of human resources.

I just don't get how this Oron and Ibibio argument started. Mr Sowell28 please stop derailing MY THREAD. If you want to argue callously, OPEN YOUR OWN THREAD.


Thank you.


Oron and Ibibio are ONE!

.